The Indonesian government has incurred a loss of USD 2 billion, equivalent to Rp 30 trillion, because many young people opt to play foreign games. Odo R.M. Manuhutu, Deputy of Coordination for Tourism and Creative Economy at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, revealed that the majority of this money flows out of the country. Therefore, the government is making efforts to ensure that a significant portion of the money spent by the public on gaming remains within the country.

"At present, 99.5 percent of Indonesian people's spending on games goes out of Indonesia. We aim to reverse this trend, with 70 percent of the money circulating in Indonesia through local games," said Odo when met at TMII Jakarta on Saturday, October 28. "Many of our young people, approximately 90 million of them, prefer playing foreign games, causing their money to be diverted abroad. We want to change this by encouraging our youth to develop local games for use by fellow young people within the country."

Based on data from 2021, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy recorded that the total market spending on games in Indonesia amounted to USD 2 billion, or approximately Rp 30 trillion. "The gaming market in Indonesia in 2021 reached USD 2 billion, or approximately Rp 30 trillion. Of this amount, the majority, which is 99.5 percent, sees money leaving Indonesia," Odo added.

The government is currently drafting a Presidential Regulation (Perpres) regarding the National Game Industry Acceleration Program to Support the Development of the Gaming Ecosystem in the Country. The hope is that economic activity from the gaming industry will predominantly remain within the country. Odo hopes that President Jokowi will sign this Perpres in November, especially as it has been under discussion for the past two years.

The Perpres will address various aspects, including access to the gaming market, software and hardware, game promotion, activation, and competitions at the regional and local levels. "This includes incentives, financing access, and human resource training, as well as software and hardware," said Odo. Odo also mentioned that one of the major challenges in the development of the gaming industry in Indonesia is related to human resources. Therefore, the Perpres will also address issues related to human resource training in the gaming industry. Nevertheless, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment has already started human resource training since 2022.

Each year, the ministry trains 3,000 gaming developers. This program runs for three years, from 2022 to 2024. "Out of the 9,000 individuals we train during this period, the assumption is that only around 100 individuals can produce high-quality games. And out of those 100, perhaps only 1-2 are truly outstanding," said Odo.

The government's target is that by 2024-2025, 70 percent of the spending by the gaming public will stay within Indonesia.